Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Your's truly was interviewed by the fine folks over at Cache-A-Maniacs Geocaching Podcast. I am honored and humbled that they chose me out of all the geocachers they could have picked from to interview. Click the link below to listen to interview

Friday, June 22, 2012

I know, I know ... I can hear you now, "Say it isn't so Geekbilly; you being interviewed? What gives?" Well, I'm glad y'all asked.

It all started with me just minding my own business and browsing Twitter. I found a tweet from @CacheAManiacs calling for people to be interviewed for their Geocaching podcast. Cache-a-maniacs is a podcast for Geocachers. According to their website:

"The original Cache-A-Maniacs Podcast launched in 2007 and was retired at the end of 2011 having interviewed more than 250 Geocachers over its five year run. Each episode featured a candid, uncut, and irregular interview with a member of the Geocaching community"

We will see how this goes. I'll be sure to post a follow up with the information on the podcast if this comes about.

Until then, go Geocaching and be sure to stay hydrated in this hot weather.

Friday, May 25, 2012

I went out to check on my "little" garden (more about that later) and found these little guys hanging around on the house near the roses. Looks like Mama Mantis has been busy. It's nice to know that I have guys hanging around eating bugs.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I have run across many snakes while outdoors and while Geocaching. Please be careful and watch out for them. Ticks are real bad this year in the deep South this year so be sure to have insect repellent handy too!

Our favorite part of geocaching is that it gets you outdoors and brings you to places you wouldn’t normally travel to or find. Unfortunately the outdoors while amazing and beautiful can also carry safety risks. Several of our readers have commented on ticks, temperature extremes and even snakes! Snakes can be lethal and so you must be careful to avoid them. A bit of a disclaimer here Kurt and I both grew up in Maine and our knowledge of snakes came much later in life. So if you have any tips or suggestions for others, PLEASE make a comment below to help everyone out!

The first thing about snakes is that you should do some research if you are geocaching in an area that you are unfamiliar with. For example if you’re from the northeast and are traveling and think you might do some geocaching while visiting family in Louisiana, you should take some time to talk to locals about what types of snakes are in the area. You may also want to review some literature about what snakes live there so you can get a visual reference on what you might encounter. Knowledge and awareness are your number one tools to avoid snakebite.

Not all snakes have rattles or will announce their presence and they tend to be under things or hiding. Beyond knowing WHAT snakes are in the area you should also know where they live. Snakes, like any reptile are cold blooded, which means they can’t regulate their body temperature. This means that they either need to layout in the sun to warm up or to hide in the shade or water to cool down. Know where the snakes live and you can put yourself on alert when entering those areas.

Here are our snake safety tips to remember:

Wear the correct clothing! Long sleeves and pants with thick boots that cover the ankle will protect you in the event of a bite.

Snakes can strike at a distance of roughly half their length. Keep your distance if you do encounter one, and back away slowly.

Never risk it! If you see a snake consider it to be venomous and treat it as such. Most snake bites come not from someone being surprised, but from people that try to move or even play with snakes.

Be careful where you step! A snake can look like a stick or might be lying in the sun trying to stay warm. You need to stay alert and watch every step you take when in snake country to avoid surprising a snake.

Be careful where you put your hands! A long time friend of mine told me that most snakebites on golf courses come from players, who like myself, spend more time in the rough than on the fairway. They see their ball and reach down to grab it not realizing that right next the ball was a snake. The same holds true for us as geocachers. Don’t let the triumph of finally finding that hidden cache override your common sense or alertness to dangers.

If you are walking your dog while geocaching in an area where there might be snakes, keep them on a leash to avoid a chance encounter.

All this stated we must remember to be good stewards of the environment when geocaching. This means having an appreciation for all aspects of nature, which includes snakes. Snakes play a critical role in local ecosystems by keeping rodent populations in check. The outdoors is plenty big enough for snakes and humans!

Do you have a snake safety tip that we didn’t share? Please leave a comment below so we can build this as a resource for others!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

I have seen a few of these in the wild. I think I may make a few of them myself. - GB

Tutorial: Down To The Wire
from Its Not About The Numbers http://www.notaboutthenumbers.com

Geocacher Derek Stewart wants to cash in on his hobby, by selling custom caches online. Here, the Canadian shows It’s Not About The Numbers how to make one of his Deke’s Cache Stash designs.

“When choosing the type of cache I want to make, I think about what I would like to find.

When caching with the kids, I look for large ones with trade items to keep their interest. When I cache with friends, I look for caches that have a higher difficulty and terrain.

Personally, I like those with a higher degree of difficulty due to the presence of muggles. Containers that are hidden in plain sight and incorporated into the landscape make for great finds.

One of my favourites is this Cable cache. It’s simple to make but can be hard to find and is good for rural as well as urban hides.

You will need: about 2 feet of coaxial cable, two F connectors, one straight connector (not a T connector), epoxy, two zip ties and a fastener to attach the cache to a pole or wall.

Most of us are fortunate to have a few extra feet of cable lying around – let’s assume that we do – so we need to take a foot off each end, ensuring that both of the connectors are still attached.

Step two is removing the plastic insert from the straight connector; the reason being so we have a place for the log to go. I prefer to drill but some I know use a heated rod to melt it.

Once that is done, remove the little piece of cable from one of the ends of the connectors attached to the cable (if it’s already attached). Leave the other attached to the second piece as it will be used to remove the log.

Now the assembly can begin. Place a small amount of epoxy on the threads of one end of the straight connector and screw it into the tip from which you removed the wire. We want the other end of the cable to be used for unscrewing and retrieving the log.

Next, screw the other cable to the other end of the straight connector then bend the cables together at the bottom and zip tie them. About halfway up, use the other ziptie to hold the cables in place until you can fasten the finished cache to a wall or telephone pole.

If possible, use Rite In The Rain paper as the space for the log is too small to use a baggie and may not be watertight.

The nice thing about hiding this cache against a telephone pole is that muggles wouldn’t think of touching any wires near a pole – even though this isn’t the correct spot for such an object!

I hope you enjoy making it as much as our fellow cachers enjoy finding it.”

About Me

Deep in the Heart of Dixie where the mountains of Northeast Georgia meet the Piedmont region, you will find a place where Hillbillies and Geeks collide. That is were you will also find John, the original GeekBilly!